Yours to Keep
by JagfanNat
Summary: Just that small, seemingly insignificant gesture from Harm, given the circumstances and occasion, was enough for her to resolve to actually do something about her feelings. She couldn’t explain it, but she just knew; it was time. Please read & review.


Disclaimer: Not mine, just having a little fun with them. Pretty Please, don't sue!

A/N: Special thanks, as always, to NettieC , my faithful and dependable fixer of all things pertaining to grammar.

Spoilers: All Ye Faithful, Yeah Baby.

YOURS TO KEEP - By JagfanNat

Harm's Apartment

North of Union Station

Washington, DC

December 25th

0149 Local Time

With hands trembling, Sarah MacKenzie raised her right hand poised to knock on the blue painted door. Hesitating, she took a deep breath, desperately trying to calm her nerves. 'What the hell am I doing here?' she asked herself. Her mind went back a few hours to the Roberts' annual Christmas Eve dinner and the utter relief she felt when a certain Commander finally arrived. Although she would never admit it out loud, she had been worried sick about him, and the fact that he hadn't returned any of her calls almost made her go crazy. How she had managed to keep it together was only due to her great Marine training and discipline. But then he arrived, safe and sound, albeit 'wingless'.

They had all spent a wonderful evening together; Harriet had once again outdone herself in the beautiful table and foods she had prepared for them all to enjoy. The turkey was cooked to perfection, and the pumpkin pie, Mac's favorite Christmas fare, was divine. Following dinner, they had all gathered in the living room, by the Christmas tree, to exchange their Secret Santa gifts and enjoy eggnog. Once the giving and receiving of gifts had concluded, Mac had pulled Harm aside to find out what had happened to him and his gold wings. Harm had just finished recounting his rather eventful day when the Admiral had announced that it was time to head out to church, as was their tradition. It was a beautiful service, with the JAG family sitting all in a row. Harm sat next to Mac and at some point towards the end of the service, Harm had taken Mac's hand into his own and, giving her a soft smile, had squeezed it gently.

It was at that moment that something in Mac's heart shifted into place. She had known for a long time that she was in love with her partner and best friend. But just that small, seemingly insignificant gesture from Harm, given the circumstances and occasion, was enough for her to resolve to actually **do** something about her feelings. She couldn't explain it, but she just knew; it was time.

It seemed that she had been running on auto-pilot since that moment. She had said her goodbyes after the service, made her way to her car and driven straight home. Upon arrival at her apartment, Mac took a quick shower, changed clothing, put her coat back on and left, all within a matter of twenty minutes. She hopped back into her car and headed toward Union Station in what felt like a daze.

Suddenly snapping out of said daze, Mac found herself hand poised to knock. 'What the hell am I doing here?' She had never been nervous about knocking on this particular door before; not once in the countless times she had done so in the last seven years. Over those years it had become her home away from home; she was at ease there. Not because of where it was, but because of who lived there – her best friend on this Earth. She realized she was nervous because she knew what she was about to do could change all that. She was jeopardizing the one constant relationship of her entire life, apart from her Uncle Matt. But, by the same token, she also knew that if this worked out the way she'd hoped, she would have the life she had always dreamed of – with him. Weighing up the options, she finally decided that it was worth the risk. Mac took another deep breath and knocked on the door three times.

She could hear music playing softly through the door and a few moments later the door swung open. The object of her affections for the last seven years, stood there in his pale blue boxer shorts and white T-shirt looking concerned – and absolutely gorgeous!

"Mac? Is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I couldn't sleep. Come on in, I was just reading."

Mac stepped into the apartment. All the lights were out except for the one in Harm's bedroom, for which she was thankful. Maybe Harm wouldn't be able to make out how nervous she was in so little light. Just as she had finished that thought, Harm moved to turn on the light.

"No! I mean, um, don't bother. I just wanted to drop by your Christmas present." Mac desperately needed the cover of the semi-darkness to get through this.

"Mac? I thought we'd decided to exchange gifts tomorrow…I mean later today…it's nearly 0200?"

"I know. I'm sorry, I couldn't wait. Do you mind?" Mac rushed out in one breath.

"I guess not, if you **really** can't wait a few hours." Harm looked a little confused. "But don't think you're getting yours now, Miss Impatient," he continued, chuckling.

"Okay, fine. Now, close your eyes," she requested, almost breathlessly.

"Mac, what's going on?" Harm asked, finally deciding Mac was acting really strangely.

"Please, Harm," Mac pleaded. "Just close your eyes." This was hard enough without having him draw things out with questions she didn't want to answer.

"Okay, okay!" he replied. Dutifully closing his eyes, he added "This must be some kind of present to have you so worked up over it!"

With trembling hands, Mac unbuttoned her coat, letting it drop at her feet. 'No backing out now' she thought. Taking a deep breath she said "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

What awaited Harm, upon his opening his eyes, was the last thing he would have expected and totally surprised him: Mac dressed in nothing more than emerald green, lacey lingerie, leaving little to the imagination and a bright red bow, placed over her heart. To say she was breathtaking would have been a gross understatement. There were no words that adequately described what Harm saw in front of his very eyes. And as such, no words came out of his now gaping mouth.

Satisfied with his reaction and now feeling a little more confident, Mac whispered "Merry Christmas, Harm. Aren't you going to unwrap your present?"

Taking a step closer to her, Harm gently unstuck the bow from Mac's chest, never taking his eyes away from hers for a second. "For me?" he asked, barely able to get his voice to work.

Mac nodded as he cupped her left cheek in his right hand, gently stroking it with his thumb. "Just for tonight?" he asked and held his breath for her answer.

"When I give a present, Harm, it's yours to keep," she replied.

"Forever?" he asked in a whisper, moving his head down towards hers.

"Or longer, if you want." Mac smiled shyly, tilting her head up to meet him.

"I want," he breathed against her lips before kissing her ever so softly.

Mac brought her arms up around his neck and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. Before long, the kiss took on a life of its own, bodies were pressed impossibly close together, and hands were exploring places that were previously only dreamt of. Suddenly finding some semblance of control, Harm pulled away slightly, looking deeply into Mac's eyes. Her face was slightly flushed, her lips swollen, her eyes dark with desire. She was so beautiful, it took his breath away.

"Are you sure, Sarah?" he asked softly, between ragged breaths.

Mac's heart skipped a beat at the sound of her given name on his lips. "Not a red light in sight, Sailor."

Harm smiled wide and bent down to scoop his Marine into his arms, kissing her passionately as he carried her to his bedroom.

***********

Harm's Apartment

North of Union Station

Washington, DC

December 25th

1012 Local Time

Harm had been awake for a little over an hour now and had spent the time, in his estimation, rather productively. The first forty five minutes had been spent perusing over the body that lay next to him. He was meticulous in his endeavor to memorize every inch of her. He had done so with his hands, lips and body throughout the night, but this was his first opportunity to so with his eyes in daylight. And he'd thoroughly enjoyed the feast his eyes had had. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen; perfectly made in every way.

Following his 'examination', Harm managed to sneak out of bed without disturbing Mac and went to the bathroom. He took a detour via the kitchen to put a fresh pot of coffee on, and quickly grabbed something from his sock drawer, before climbing back into bed to snuggle up to his favorite Marine. He took her left hand and gently slipped the ring onto her finger - perfect fit! It looked good on her; just as he always thought it would. He entwined his fingers with hers and slowly brought her hand up to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on her ring finger. Mac stirred but didn't wake. He kissed his way up her arm, over her shoulder and onto her neck. She stirred again and started to rouse as he continued to nuzzle her neck just where, he'd learned last night, a particularly sensitive spot was. Running her hand through his hair and loving the feel of it through her fingers she said "Good morning, sailor."

"Yes, it is," he replied, kissing her deeply "Merry Christmas, Sarah."

"Merry Christmas, Harm," she beamed back at him.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" he asked, placing another kiss on her lips.

"Not since 0712" she answered deadpan.

"How do you do that?" he asked incredulously.

"I'll never tell." She smirked as she brought her left hand up to flatten his bed head.

Noticing a ring on her finger which was not there previously, she gasped audibly wondering how on earth she could have forgotten that Harm had proposed. Running through the events of last night quickly in her head, she couldn't remember him doing so. She remembered him declaring his love for her each of the three times they'd made love; but a proposal and presentation of a ring, no.

"Um, sorry to ask, but did you propose to me last night?" she asked somewhat embarrassed, holding up her left hand.

"You proposed to me, didn't you?" he sheepishly replied.

Mac frowned. "Forever. Or longer, if you want?" he repeated her words from the night before.

Mac smiled "Yeah, I guess I did." She hadn't thought of it that way, but that was exactly what she was saying at the time.

"So I thought I'd make it official," Harm interrupted her thoughts.

"And you just happened to have an engagement ring lying around?"

"Well, yeah. You never know when a gorgeous Marine is going to propose," was his glib response. Then, becoming serious, he held her left hand and continued "This is the ring my dad gave my mom when they got engaged. My mom gave it to me when I went away to Annapolis, to give to my future wife. I've kept it ever since, waiting for the right woman; my soul mate, my other half." Harm swallowed hard. "You are that woman, Sarah. You complete me. And I know you already proposed, but I feel like I need to ask you; will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Tears streaming down her face, Mac nodded and kissed him tenderly, "Yes I would be honored to be your wife."

"I love you so much, Sarah." He hugged her tightly, "My Sarah."

"I love you, too, my Harm."

***************

Later, Harm prepared some lunch and they ate in silence, both starving. They then exchanged Christmas gifts, after Mac went to her car to retrieve Harm's gift which she had forgotten the night before. As Harm didn't have a television, they were then happy to just cuddle and enjoy each other's company. They discussed the logistics of the change in their relationship and its impact on their careers, and decided that they would talk to the Admiral upon their return to the office on Thursday. They discussed their living arrangements, but still hadn't agreed on where they would live. They discussed what sort of wedding they would like and decided against a military wedding, and opted instead for a simple garden wedding, maybe at Bud and Harriet's home, with a few close friends and Harm's parents. They also decided to have a short engagement, deciding that they had wasted enough time already. After a while, Harm had become very quiet, so Mac gave him a little nudge "Penny for your thoughts."

"I was just thinking of all the time we've wasted. If you hadn't come here last night, we'd probably still be wandering around the wilderness of our relationship, wasting yet more time, and for who knows how long."

"No probablies about it, Harm," she responded matter-of-factly.

"I'm sorry, Mac."

"What for?"

"I'm sorry you had to be the one to finally end our dance. I should have been the brave one."

"Well, I **am** the Marine," she chuckled "but seriously, Harm, it doesn't matter who ended it. The important thing is that we're together now and we're not wasting anymore time. I love you."

"I love you, too." Harm went silent again, and Mac could almost hear his brain ticking over.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Haarm! I can hear your brain working overtime. Spill it," she demanded.

"I was just thinking that the gift you gave me last night was the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me." He pulled her tighter against him, his voice failing him for a minute. He cleared his throat and continued "and I don't know what I could ever possibly give you that would match that."

Mac was silent for a minute, and then turned in his arms to look at him in the eyes; those beautiful expressive eyes. How she loved this man. She placed a soft kiss on his lips, pulling back before he could deepen it and Harm looked at her, confused.

"Well, you could make good on your promise," she smiled shyly as she watched Harm's brain try to compute what she was saying.

"But AJ isn't even three yet," he looked at her quizzically.

"Would you mind terribly if we upped the timetable?" she teased.

"Anything for you, sweet thing," he flashed that flyboy smile she adored and melted in his embrace.

THE END


End file.
